AN~ Hey you guys. So here's the next segment. PLEASE review, I can't stress that enough.

The next day, Nathan and I both drove over to the cemetery. We got out of the car and walked over to the mausoleum. I looked in Nathan's direction and could practically feel the tension coming from him. I knew he was uneasy about this. Uneasy didn't even do it justice. When we got there, Nathan drew to a halt and exhaled slowly, setting the flowers he had gotten down on the stone epitaph. When he straightened, I heard a heavy exhale come from him and looked in his direction. Nathan took off his glasses and seemed to rub the corners of his eyes, holding them in his hand as he lowered his eyes to the epitaph, swallowing. I moved nearer to him, rubbing his back in slow, gentle circles. I felt his arm go around my shoulders and the kiss he placed on the side of my head, leaning the side of his against my own. We left the cemetery, saying out goodbyes to Marni before heading back. I stayed over at Nathan's that night. While he finished up the dishes, I went to put Shilo to bed. I was concerned, actually. He hadn't really said a word since we got back from the cemetery. Tucking Shilo in, I decided that I was going to talk to Nathan before we went to bed, let him talk if he needed to. Closing the door to Shilo's room, I walked down the stairs to the kitchen to find Nathan leaning with his hand on the counter, his glasses next to his hand, with his other one over his eyes. I could see his head lowered and sharp exhale and knew immediately that something was wrong.

"Nathan," I murmured softly, moving toward him and wrapped my arms around his waist. I could feel a periodic shake go through him every so often, knowing immediately just how much today had affected him. I rubbed my hand up and down his side to comfort him, gently kissing the back of his shoulder. I felt one arm go over my own and felt him almost lean toward me.

"I'm sorry," Nathan muttered, his voice thick and broken. I knew he was crying. I knew before I even got down the stairs. But I held him close.

"It's alright, Nate," I told him gently, doing what I could to comfort him. Nathan turned around in my arms wrapped his own around me, burying his face against the side of my neck. I held him tightly, kissing the side of his head.

"I miss her," He murmured against my shoulder. "I didn't want to put you through this, but I do,"

"I know you do, sweetheart, it's alright." I assured him, rubbing his back. "I never would have expected you not to. However long it takes you to grieve, I'll be right here,"

Nathan exhaled sharply, tightening his arms around me. I meant every word I said. At this time, Nathan needed someone beside him more than anything. I was more than willing to take that place.

We went upstairs to get to bed, and when I came out of the bathroom after having changed into sweats, I saw Nathan in flannel pyjama bottoms sitting at the foot of the bed, shoulders hunched, his elbows rested on his knees with one hand running through his hair, his head lowered. I moved nearer to him, sliding my arm around his shoulders.

"You don't deserve what I've put you through," He said quietly, not quite glancing up at me but in my direction.

"You haven't put me through anything," I assured him. I sat behind him with both my legs on either side of him, my body pressed to his back while I wrapped my arms around his torso from behind, kissing the back of his shoulder. Nathan exhaled slowly through his nose and gently straightened, leaning slightly back against me in response. I kissed the side of his neck, my arms gently wrapped around his bare torso. I loved touching him. I couldn't have been crazier about Nathan. Everything about him was familiar. "You know I'm here anytime you need me. Always."

Nathan nodded slowly, gently tilting his head so it was near me, laying a hand over my arms and gently stroked my wrist with his thumb.

"I know, and that means the world to me," He said softly. I found myself with my attention on every movement, the feeling of his voice resonating in his chest, in his body. The body that I now held in my arms when he spoke again. "I love you, Maggie,"

I almost thought I didn't hear him correctly. That word. The word that seemed to seal the deal, display the ultimate devotion. Did I really just hear that out of Nathan Wallace begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting?

"I do, Mag. I really do love you." He said, and his voice seemed to quiet. "I'm not just saying that either, because, yes, you've been there for me more than I could have ever asked. Losing Marni... it was heartbreaking, but you and I have something, a bond that I never could have with anyone else. You care about me more than anyone else could."

I was speechless at first. Only because of how left field the comment had been. Nathan turned his head to look at me.

"If that was too intense, I'm sorry. You don't have to return it," He said softly, lowering his eyes. He was trying to protect himself and shrug it off, but I could tell he was hoping I would return it, and knew it would hurt him if he had come out too quickly. But that wasn't the reason I responded with what I did.

"No, it's not. I love you, too, Nathan," I responded, tightening my arms around him. There was utmost sincerity in my voice, because I did love him. I had loved him for longer than he knew. Nathan lifted his head and looked at me, almost as though he hadn't been expecting that answer. He seemed like he had been expecting to be hurt, again, as though he thought pain and heartbreak was all he would ever know.

"You do?"

"Yes," I responded, kissing his shoulder. "So much. I've loved you for a long time now."

I could almost feel the relief run through him and he closed his eyes with a low exhale. I brought the side of his head toward me gently and kissed it, feeling Nathan then lay the side of his head against my shoulder. I tilted the side of my head against the back side of his own, gently running the tips of my fingers along his chest and stomach.

"I don't know what I would do if I ever lost you," He murmured, shaking his head against my shoulder. I shook my own, holding him close.

"You'll never lose me, Nathan. I promise," I told him. I meant it, too. There was nothing he could ever do that would turn me away.

Later that night we lay in bed. Nathan fell asleep beside me on his back, one hand lying on his stomach, his head tilted in the opposite direction from me though his body was tilted nearer to my own. I lay on my stomach, one arm under my head while the one closest to him was free. I couldn't take my eyes off him, watching him sleep, surveying every slight movement, every periodic shift, watching his stomach and chest rise and fall in a steady pattern. I wanted to touch him but I didn't want to wake him. I lay there, still watching him, unable to believe that not even an hour and a half ago, this man, the man I knew so well, and had loved for God only knows how long, had told me he loved me. A man crippled by tragedy emotionally, who I never thought could ever love again, and now he lay beside me. I inched closer to him, laying my arm over him, feeling the warmth of his body and the comfort of holding on to someone. I affectionately but gently ran my hand and finger tips gently up and down Nathan's side, feeling every contour of his hip and the rest of his body. It was almost as though I was completely in awe by him now that I knew for a fact that he was mine. I had his still-healing heart, and that was something I never, ever planned on breaking again. I wanted to love him, I wanted to show him that someone else could love him. That he meant more to me than anything. I gently ran my fingertips from his side down his torso and stomach, feeling him breathing and feeling the tiny muscles twitch subtly in response to the touch. He stirred slightly, and I felt his arm go around me and gently draw me closer. I knew he was still somewhat half asleep, but just awake enough to be able to acknowledge my presence. I moved nearer to him, tightening my arm around Nathan and lay my head on his chest. and partially on his sternum. I could feel and hear the gentle drumming of Nathan's heart, a soothing aspect of falling asleep in his arms.

Another month had gone by, which would have lead up to about four months since Marni had died and three that Nathan and I had been dating. Cooper was now four months old at a hefty forty pounds for a male German Shepherd. He was growing into himself, but was still very leggy, with his ears seeming to grow crookedly on either side of his head, though I knew eventually fill in and stand straight like they were supposed to. I had taken him to extensive obedience classes because there was no way I needed him growing to be a year old and bowling people over. With Cooper in the back of my LR4, I pulled up at Nathan's property and parked. But looking in the arena, I immediately noticed Nathan out there with a big black and white pinto who I immediately recognised to be Uther. The stallion was at a choppy trot, and I knew it was probably because he was still recovering from his injury, but he was hooked to a lunge line with Nathan standing in the centre with a lunge whip. I parked and got out of the car, opening up the back to clip Cooper's leash to his training prong chain, which actually helped with a lot of control over the growing puppy. Even at his young age, Cooper was very good about staying with me and listening to my commands.

I was surprised to see Nathan working with the stallion. Uther seemed like he was coming along decently enough. His mane had grown out quite a bit as well as whiskers and the feathers on his fetlocks, but he looked fairly good. I told Cooper to sit, which he immediately did beside me, and leaned on the fence. Nathan slowed the stallion to a walk and reeled him in after he glanced over and saw me. Once he had Uther next to him, Nathan walked over to where the fence was.

"Hey you," He said with a smile, and leaning over the fence I kissed him in return as he tilted his head to do so.

"Hey," I was always happy to see Nathan. Even when we hadn't seen each other yet for that morning it seemed too long. My eyes trailed to Uther. "How's he doing?"

"Well, I decided to bring him out, he's already kicked a fairly decent-sized hole in the wall of his stall." Nathan said, unbuckling the halter to tighten it a notch on Uther's head. "I really don't feel like having a board repaired, so we figured it's about time he was able to get out a bit. If he's at least in training to keep him working then it should keep him sane. How's this one doing?"

Nathan motioned at Cooper, who was squirming with anticipation to jump up on Nathan, but that was one of the many things we had been working on, and the young Shepherd knew better. Even so, I moved my leg so one was on either side of him and Cooper sat between my legs, hoping to block him from lunging forward to greet Nathan, which I knew would scare the hell out of Uther. "He's doing well. I can't believe how smart he is. He wants to please so badly."

Nathan chuckled. "See? What did I tell you?" He said, looking from me to Cooper. "He looks like he's doing well. That's very characteristic of a German Shepherd. You're his human, by nature and instinct he's going to want to please you, and he will be fiercely loyal to you."

"He already is. I'm very pleased with how he's turned out so far," I said with a smile, bending to pat Cooper's side.

"Here, come with us back in the barn," Nathan said, and I joined him in the barn to put Uther away. Clipping him to the aisle crossties, Nathan grabbed a brush and swept it over Uther's black and white frame. I couldn't help but notice just how much better the stallion looked.

"He's put on weight," I commented. "He looks good."

It wasn't just that, though. Uther's mane and tail were combed out and his whole coat was brushed. Nathan had actually been spending time with the stallion. The mere idea was touching.

Nathan looked up at me in response with a thin smile. "Yeah. It hasn't been easy, and he eats more than I've ever seen, but it's coming back to him."

I tied Cooper to one of the stalls and when Nathan put the brush away and straightened, I moved forward and wrapped my arms around his waist, kissing the side of his neck and hugged him from behind. Nathan smiled, squeezing my arm gently and leaned the side of his head against mine, leaning back into me slightly.

"I love you," I murmured to him, laying my chin on his shoulder. I could feel his thumb gently stroking along my wrist.

"I love you, too, sweetheart." He responded softly. I gave him a gentle squeeze then released him, feeling his hand run affectionately up and down my back before he unclipped Uther to lead him back to his stall.

"Nate, do you think you would ever get another horse?" I asked. Nathan laughed, shaking his head.

"Are you kidding? I have enough on my hands with these two." He said gently, unbuckling Uther's halter.

"I mean for you to ride," I said. "Like, your own horse. You're an amazing rider, Nathan. I think you'd love it."

Nathan paused, and the look he gave me was almost somewhat saddened.

"I don't think so," He said softly. He moved out of the stall, sliding it shut behind him. "It took quite a bit for me to even come back down here again. After what happened, I just... I don't think I bring myself to get back on a horse. Not after what happened to her."

Although I wanted to try to convince him otherwise, I could understand how he felt. I wrapped an arm around him, feeling his own go around my shoulders with a gentle squeeze.

"You going to get on Rags?" He asked, looking in my direction. I shrugged.

"I don't know, maybe not today," I responded.

Nathan's phone rang suddenly and we both jumped. Rolling his eyes, he grabbed it out of his pocket and flipped it open. "Wallace. Hi Renee."

I watched Nathan's eyes as he listened to what was being said on the other end. His olive green eyes trailed to the other side of the barn intently. A frown suddenly crossed his face and I searched his face.

"Wait, how did my num... really?" Nathan paused then exhaled slowly, taking off his glasses and wiping them with the hem of his t-shirt. "I'm not a Rescue, Renee, you know that,"

Nathan pushed the glasses back on his face, exhaling heavily. "Alright, let me think about it. I've got more than enough room but I'm taking care of the two I have with my girlfriend. I don't know if we can take on a third. I'll call you back, alright? Ok, thanks. Bye."

Nathan hung up the phone and I shot him questioning look.

"What was that about?"

"This guy was arrested for tax evasion. He owned over thirty racehorses, all of which had been neglected. Renee runs a Thoroughbred rescue and she just didn't have the room. Wanted to know if I could take on one or two, maybe three."

"You should, honey." I said. Nathan made a face.

"I don't know. I think we're having enough issues with two horses plus my sixteen-month-old daughter, I'm not sure I can handle a spastic two-year-old Thoroughbred off the track; let alone three." Nathan responded.

"Just go take a look, Nathan. We can both go." I said. "Go with the plan to just foster one, then see how you feel when you get there. If you wound up keeping the horse--"

"Whoa... whoa whoa whoa... " Nathan stopped me in my tracks with an uneasy laugh. "Maggie, keeping the animal didn't even cross my mind. I would be keeping it here until it found a permenant home then I'd have it off my hands."

"However," I began, trying to see if maybe I could talk him into it. "You helped train Uther."

"Barely," Nathan replied. "Marni did a majority of the work with him beforehand."

"All I'm saying is if you can get it retrained, it would be easier to sell. And all three of them all the better."

Nathan blew out a breath, running his hands through his hair before rolling his eyes, shaking his head with a grin. "Alright, fine. We'll go take a look. But you're coming with me, I'm going to need you there to help me cram whatever I bring home into the trailer. I've seen racehorses, they don't load easily. At least not the ones I've seen."

I laughed. "Alright. Deal."

"I can't believe I'm doing this." Nathan muttered. We were in the car the next day with the three-horse-trailer in tow. Nathan wanted to bring a two-horse, I'm sure to avoid the temptation of bringing home three, but I convinced him that having a three horse would at least leave more room if say we did bring back one, even two and we could leave the space between the two. We got to the property where the confiscated horses were kept. When Nathan and I got out of the car, they had quite a few of the yearlings in one pen while some of them were in pipe corrals. Mares with foals were kept in one of the arenas. It was clear that they were overwhelmed with what they had.

"Nathan Wallace begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting?" Both Nathan and I turn our heads as a man in his early fifties with dark hair and brown eyes approached and he and Nathan both shook hands.

"Yes."

"Tony." The guy responded. "We spoke on the phone."

"That's right," Nathan responded in immediate realisation. "Tony, my girlfriend; Mag."

"Pleasure." Tony responded with a nod, shaking my own hand before turning to the both of us. "So you can see our predicament here."

"I can," Nathan commented, shaking his head, shoving his hands into his pockets. "What's going to happen to the ones that can't fit on Renee's property?"

"We're trying to find more fosters for them, hopefully permenant homes." He said.

"Don't tell Mag that, if she could she would take all of them home," Nathan said with a grin, looking in my direction in a way of telling me that he was gently teasing. I already knew that, and grinned in return. It was true. I would take all of them home if I was able to.

"How much room in your trailer do you have?" Tony asked.

"We brought a three-horse, but I really would prefer not bringing three home. Maybe two tops, but even that I'm not sure if I can handle."

"Alright. We'll have you take a look at a few of them and see what you think." Tony said. As we went through the pens, these horses looked like they had been standing up to their knees in mud. Some of them were skinnier than others, all of them caked in dirt and mud. A few of them seemed sick but they were kept quarantined from the others. Nathan was shaking his head in disgust.

"It's sick," I commented. He nodded slowly.

"They don't look as bad as I was expecting, but they're still in pretty bad shape." He said.

"We do have a couple stud colts on the property as well." Tony said.

"Ah, I'd like to avoid that, actually. I've got a stallion at home, that might cause for some problems." Nathan said. Tony nodded.

"Alright, that's understandable." He took us down to the arena. A few of them bunched together, wide-eyed and uneasy. Tony went through the list of names.

"Batten, Away We Go, Dragonada, Kilkenny Creek, Empada, Dragon Blade, Bank on Silver, Empire... " Tony read and looked up.

"Which one's Kilkenny Creek?" Nathan asked, trying to scan the arena.

"The bay with the right hind sock and the blaze." He said. I caught sight of him immediately. He wasn't all that big, but he couldn't have been older than two, either. I would have guessed he had to be around fifteen hands at this point.

"What about Dragonada?" I asked. Tony pointed at the dark grey filly who crowded near Kilkenny Creek

"The chestnut is Batten, Dragon Blade is the black colt with the star, Bank on Silver is the other grey in there, Empada is the blood bay with the star, Empire is the seal brown, Away We Go is the other chestnut but with a star.

"Which ones should we take?" Nathan looked in my direction.

"You think we can fit four in?"

"Mag... "

"Alright, I know, I know," I leaned toward Nathan so he could hear me. "My favourites so far are Kilkenny Creek, Dragonada and Bank on Silver."

"I've seen Kilkenny Creek run before, he's talented," Nathan commented. "But two greys and a bay?"

"We could always throw Dragon Blade in there, too."

"He is a nice looking colt, but what about Batten?"

"I don't know... "

"Maggie, I'm not planning on training these guys. I'm keeping them, feeding them, then getting rid of them the second they find homes. Thoroughbreds are not my thing."

"We do have a few broodmares with foals as well." Tony suggested. My head whipped in Nathan's direction.

"Oh my God, Nathan... "

"No way. Not a chance. I don't do foals." Nathan said, then turned to Tony. "How about this, we'll take the three, Kilkenny Creek, Bank on Silver and Dragonada, and if we think we can take on a fourth I'll let you know. How long will you have these? What will happen to the ones that don't get adopted?"

"We're a bit pressed for space. I'm afraid the ones we can't rehome are out of our responsibility."

Nathan and I both knew what that meant. If the horses were out of their hands that usually meant they went to auction, and their fate was undecided. "Listen, just hold Batten and Dragon Blade for me and I'll see if I make room later on. For the time being, if I take those three home then I have five horses to focus on. I think that about pulls all my attention away for the time being, but if I can take those other two I'll let you know." Nathan told Tony.

"Alright, so if you'll back up your trailer we can get them herded into it." Tony said. Nathan's eyes widened.

"Herded?" Nathan said. "I have a slant load, not a stock trailer. They'll kill themselves."

"Then we'd better take down the divider, because they're not going to go in easily. They've been untouched for going on four weeks now."

"Fantastic," Nathan growled, turning toward the trailer. I knew at this point he was irritated, but above all, stressed. He didn't want to be responsible for one of the horses getting hurt on the ride over. Trying to load them and keep them loose in the trailer wasn't a safe idea, especially for racehorses that I'm sure were worth thousands of dollars. When we walked back to the truck, I got in with Nathan, who was tense.

"You alright?" I asked. Nathan nodded, exhaling heavily.

"Yeah, just annoyed." He responded. "The guy's a jerk, he has no real idea what he's doing. You can't free load three Thoroughbreds under the age of five and expect to not have a disaster on your hands."

"I know." I said gently. "We'll get them home and go from there.

We pulled the trailer up and Nathan twisted around in his seat, backing up to the entrance of the arena. A couple younger guys hollered and swung coiled leadropes in the direction of the three we had chosen.

"What the hell are you doing?" Nathan got out of the truck. "You're going to have a horse with a broken leg if you keep that up."

"Look, man, we're just doing what we're told." The guy who looked about eighteen responded. Nathan was muttering under his breath as he lowered the ramp, moving in to lock the dividers back. They chased Dragonada, Kilkenny Creek and Bank on Silver up the ramp in a racket of clanging metal and alarmed snorts. But they were in. The ramp was lifted and Tony came around with papers for Nathan to sign.

"Alright, so this just declares that you are the current caretaker for these horses until we find someone to take them. Be sure to let us know if you decide to keep any of them--"

"--I can almost guarantee you that's not going to happen." Nathan said.

"Well, regardless, it'll just save us having to look for a new owner... and if you find someone who's interested have them call us and we'll take it from there."

Nathan signed his name on the forms and we were heading back to his place. We turned the three loose in the arena, since we knew trying to go in the trailer when the horses had only halters and no leadropes on had bad news written all over it. If we caught them in the arena it was a much safer bet.

"They give us halters, but no leadropes, I love it." Nathan laughed bitterly, stepping into the trailer. Within seconds, all three of them flew out of there like bats out of hell. The tore across the arena and lapped around it several times before drawing to halts, watching us wide-eyed and wary.

"You know what, for the time being we're going to have to use only two leadropes to get them. I'll get leadropes tomorrow." Nathan said. He went into the barn and came out with Uther's and Rags' leadropes, handing Rags' to me. We went in and slowly tried to go for a few of them.

"Why don't you grab Dragonada, Maggie, and I'll get Kilkenny Creek and Bank on Silver." Nathan said. I tried to remember which one was Dragonada and which one was Bank on Silver, since both of them were grays. It just so happened that Dragonada's mane was darker than Bank on Silver's, but the second I approached her the filly shot me a wary look.

"Easy sweetheart, you're fine," I crooned, trying to approach closer, but Dragonada pressed herself further against Kilkenny Creek's side. I took another step toward her and she scrambled to get away. All three of them scattered and Nathan narrowly missed being plowed over by Kilkenny Creek. We should have let them loose in the round pen. This was a huge mistake.

After about thirty minutes we finally caught the three. They were placed in stalls across from each other so they could see one another, which would at least be comforting to a degree, being in a new place. Nathan and I went back up to the house and finally collapsed on the corner couch.

"What've we gotten ourselves into?" I murmured, lying on my side beside Nathan with my head on his chest.

"I was just wondering the same thing." He responded softly with his arm around me. "If we can just get them mellowed out a bit, I think we'll be fine. All three of them are broke."

"Yeah. Two speeds, one direction," I muttered, sinking further against him. "...exhausted."

"I know, sweetheart." Nathan said softly, kissing the top of my head. "You and me both."

I had brought Cooper over to Nathan's house with me, and before we both knew it, we had forty pounds of German Shepherd clambering up on the couch only to plop down ontop of us.

"Ok... this isn't going to work," Nathan grunted. I had my face buried in his chest I was laughing so hard. Even Nathan was laughing. "We've got to rethink your position here, Coop."

Cooper stared at him then pawed at Nathan's chin. However, that was a big paw, and wound up slapping Nathan in the face. Nathan laughed, pulling Cooper so he lay between my legs and Nathan's. We were in for a quiet night and we both knew it.

"I have a question for you," Nathan said. I glanced up at him, still rubbing Cooper's ears.

"Oh? What would that be?"

"Well, considering your horse is here, you're always here, and you're dog's always here... " Nathan said, his voice mocking exasperation. I playfully and gently whacked him on the chest with the back of my hand, which elicited a grunt and a laugh out of Nathan.

"I'm serious on part of that, though," He said, his tone changing. "Would you want to move in here?"

"You mean... move in here?" I asked, a bit taken aback at first by his request. Nathan laughed.

"Let me rephrase that." He said. "Would you want to move in with me?"

I stared at him for a couple seconds before a smile slid across my face. "Absolutely." I responded, completely excited. But I paused, searching his face. "Nate, are you sure you're ready for this?"

"Of course I am," He said with a grin. I could feel his hand running gently up and down my side. "I want to live with you, Maggie. I really do."

I was touched by what he said. Mainly because I could see in his eyes that he was telling the absolute and complete truth. I gently ran my fingers through the side of his hair in a soothing manner, searching his face before leaning forward and kissed him. "I love you," I murmured against his lips with a smile. Nathan chuckled, kissing me back.

"I love you, too, Maggie," He responded, breaking the kiss and gently kissed alongside my jaw. "So can I take that as a yes?"

"Yes!" I shrieked with a laugh as he playfully poked my side and I squirmed out of the way, sliding my arm over his torso and I lay beside him. I didn't think I could possibly be happier.